Bringing Her Back
by booklover333
Summary: It has been 3 years since Uchiha Sasuke left. Haruno Sakura has long given up on him, but she gets an unexpected surprise one day.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto and I don't own them.**

**Hello! This story has been updated - SO PLEASE READ &amp; REVIEW! THANKS!**

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Chapter 1:

It had been 3 years since he had gone. Three years since she had given up on him. Uchiha Sasuke. The one, the traitor, who had left the village to go seek power from Orochimaru. Haruno Sakura was left heartbroken and cried for many days, locking herself in her house and starving herself.

Then, all of a sudden, she came to realization, _Why should I care for that cold-hearted monster? What has he ever done for me?_

Sakura wanted to become stronger, so that she could prove that she wasn't the weak, little girl that always needed to be protected on missions. She hated feeling like she was useless, but how was it her fault that her body froze whenever it came to a fight? Or that her usually sharp mind decided not to work when needed most? Luckily, she had the rest of her team to protect her, but that made her feel like even more of a nuisance, an annoyance.

Sakura didn't know where to start or how to get stronger, but she thought since she had an interest in medical studies, that if she went to the Hokage, Tsunade, maybe she would teach her.

After Tsunade had agreed, seeing potential in the young kunoichi just as she had with Shizune, Sakura became her apprentice.

Now, three years later, Tsunade's training had a big effect on Sakura. She had inhumane strength, because she could control her chakra phenomaly and release it all at once, creating a huge impact. She was a valued medical ninja, being second-in-command, after Tsunade herself, as young as Sakura was. A genjutsu user as well, she was a fine kunoichi of Konoha, their village name.

Sakura decided to suppress her feelings of love for Sasuke, telling herself that she hated him, no matter how much it hurt. So after a while, she became…numb to feelings. Why bother with feelings when you have strength?

Her cheery personality had faded and now she only smiled when she was near their old Team 7, now without Sasuke of course.

This team consisted of Uzumaki Naruto, the biggest idiot and loudest ninja in their village, Hatake Kakashi, the legendary copy ninja who copied over thousands of jutsus with his Sharingan, Yamato, their team captain when Kakashi had other missions to take care of and their temporary replacement for Sasuke, Sai. Sai was a lot like Sasuke, as in he didn't have very good social skills and kept to himself.

Uzumaki Naruto, her best friend, had also left for 2 and a half years, opting to train with one of the three legendary Sannin, just as Sasuke and Sakura had. He had come home expecting to see his dear friend Sakura welcome him back with a smile, but her smile seemed forced and didn't reach her eyes. She hugged him, but it was awkward and uninviting. Her arms were cold.

Hatake Kakashi had become like a father-like figure to Sakura. He was always there for her when Naruto wasn't in the village and he comforted her like a real father would. These feelings toward him became stronger when Sakura's own father and mother died. She relied on him more and he let her stay with him for a while, as did Naruto until she was stable enough to be on her two feet again. Sakura stayed with Kakashi almost every day when Naruto had left the village for training and when she had enough money from working at the hospital and going on missions, she bought a small, though spacious enough for her, apartment.

Yamato was new to Team 7, like Sai, but he cared for Sakura a lot as well, and was there to give her advice when she needed it.

Sai, well, he was...Sai. He never really did much for Sakura, except give her drawings of things that he sketched or painted, which she greatly appreciated, giving him a tiny smile every time he did. When they were left alone, they usually sat in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They took occasional walks together, nothing special, walking in silence, but it was comforting for them both.

Sasuke's departure had taken a big toll on Sakura, in some ways good and some ways bad. Because of his leave, she had decided that she needed to become stronger, while at the same time her emotions were fading away, with Naruto, Kakashi, Yamato and somewhat Sai trying to keep them alive.

Ever since Naruto had gotten back from training, she had started smiling and laughing more, unable to resist laughing at the blonde's attempts to cheer her up, which usually included him doing something stupid.

The rest of the "Konoha Twelve" or now, "Konoha Eleven" were there for her too. She had gotten closer with everyone since Sasuke's departure, since they were all there.

Many people, like Hinata, Tenten, Ino, Lee and Kiba had arranged training sessions with Team Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi and Gai. They also arranged doing many things together, ranging from picnics, playing games, watching movies, etc.

It seemed that Sakura was slowly coming back to life, but she still kept to herself more than usual. It looked like her emotions were coming back slowly, like she was recovering from losing the one she loved. Like she was…healing.

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Today, was a regular morning in Konoha and, as usual, sunny with a slight breeze in the air. Sakura got up at exactly 6:00 A.M., the time she would wake up to start her day. She got dressed, had a bit of breakfast and headed out the door to go train with her master, Tsunade. When she reached the Hokage Tower, where Tsunade worked, she walked to her teacher's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A voice answered. Sakura walked in and noticed that her former sensei, Kakashi, was there as long with Shizune, her senpai. Her gaze dropped on her teacher, who was sitting at her huge desk. Sakura lifted one of her perfectly curved eyebrow as if to say, "What's going on?" She knew that Kakashi wasn't usually there, something was up.

Her teacher, mentally reading her mind, said, "Sakura, I was just about to call you here," she paused, lacing her fingers together and propping her elbows on her desk. "Uchiha Sasuke has returned."

Sakura's heart stopped momentarily. She didn't fully understand what her master meant. _What?! No…this couldn't happen. Not now. It's been 3 years. Why all of a sudden come back now? Why when I'm healing? Why when I started to forget about you?_

Sakura was not only confused, but angry. Why did the Uchiha have to come back right when she was starting to heal, when she was starting to become more like her cheerful self? Why did he have to go and ruin everything?!

When Sakura recollected herself, she didn't even bother to ask about Sasuke. "When can we start today's training, Tsunade-sama?" she said to her master.

Tsunade knew this was going to happen, she knew that her apprentice wasn't going to like the idea, but she was rather relieved that Sakura hadn't caused a fuss and stormed out of the room. She sighed. "I am busy today, so you can take your shift at the hospital."

"But my shift doesn't start until noon, Tsunade-sama," she replied. Sakura just wanted to train, in the woods, where she could punch things and let out her anger by causing a mini earthquake with her superhuman strength. She wanted an escape.

"Well, today, you need to take care of a _special_ patient." Tsunade knew that her pupil wasn't going to like what Sakura would encounter at the hospital, but she needed someone to keep care of _him,_ someone who wasn't drooling over him every second. Sasuke was on probation, any normal citizen would have been killed immediately for betraying the village. But she had done this for her pupil, for she wanted her to be cheery again and smile, not depressed and acting all tough like she is now.

_Who would be that special?_ she thought. But, she agreed, not wanting to get on her master's bad side. She had done that before and it was a terrifying experience. When Tsunade gets angry, you are as good as dead.

"Fine," she spat out. Sakura knew that was no way to talk to her teacher, but she hoped that Tsunade would understand what she was going through.

Tsunade nodded and dismissed Sakura.

Sakura walked slowly to the hospital, taking her leisure. She thought about why all of a sudden Sasuke would come back, now of all times. What was so special about today? She also wondered who the special patient was. As realization dawned on her, Sakura stopped in her tracks. _It isn't Sasuke is it?! Tsunade-sama didn't say anything about him being hurt!_ Desperately hoping that her patient wasn't Sasuke, she walked faster towards the hospital.

When she got there, Sakura instantly signed in and checked her duties today. The first and only major one today was the patient in Room 202. Heart pounding, she made her way there. She turned the doorknob and opened the door after knocking and hearing a faint grunt as an "okay" to come in. There, she saw Uchiha Sasuke, laying on the bed. His usually flawless complexion was covered with bruises and he had a huge injury on his left leg and lower right part of his stomach.

Sakura stood there for a moment before recollecting herself and fully entering the room. On the outside, she was composed and calm, looking indifferent towards the situation. However, on the inside, she was furious. Sakura wanted to make him pay, to make him feel the pain he had made her feel. Even though that was impossible, because she had received a blow to the heart, not physically. She knew even though that she couldn't make that happen, she still wanted him to get hurt, even if it's just a sliver of what pain she had to go through. Sakura was no longer the weak girl Sasuke had left on the bench the day he left Konoha. She often wondered how she was still able to stand.

She calmly walked over to his bed, and said in a monotonous, practiced voice, "I have been assigned to care of your injuries today, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. He was looking at Sakura, not believing this is the helpless, little fangirl who always needed to be protected on missions he left when he left on the bench that night. He wouldn't admit it, but he was slightly impressed. She seemed to be having an aura around her that just proved she was strong.

Sakura first started a regular physical checkup on Sasuke, not making eye contact with him at all. Then, she started to heal his major injuries. She slowly unwrapped his bandages and soon, her hands began to glow a green tint as she moved her hands around his body, hovering very slightly, but not touching. Sakura spent the next hour healing all of his major injuries. He was still not ready to totally walk, but he was in better condition than before.

Sasuke was looking at Sakura the whole time. _What has she become? She doesn't seem like a fangirl anymore. She seems...cold hearted. She looks…strong._

After she was done, Sakura wrote some notes about his condition on the clipboard attached to his bed. Then, she turned around and headed for the door, feeling a bit depleted of her chakra - after all, Sasuke had many injuries. When she opened the door, a bright blur of orange was seen and Sakura was glomped by a figure. Sasuke realized it was Naruto.

"SAKURA-CHAN! HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?! I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU IF YOU COULD-" he screamed, then he sensed a familiar chakra. Naruto turned to the look inside the room, his mouth gaping wide open when he saw Sasuke lying there. "T-TEME! HEY! YOU ARE BACK!"

Sasuke cringed. _That dobe. He's still as loud as ever._

Naruto ran over to Sasuke's bed, dragging an irritated looking Sakura with him. "First," Naruto punched Sasuke harshly on his unharmed shoulder. The punch sent waves of pain through Sasuke's body, since he was still bruised. Sasuke groaned and glared at Naruto, but before Sasuke could say anything Naruto cut him off, "That was for leaving and everything else you have done," he said it pretty seriously, which is strange for Naruto.

Then he broke out into his goofy grin. "Second," he held out his fist and Sasuke looked up at Naruto, then with some hesitation, bumped his own fist against Naruto's.

"So? How were you? When did you get back?!" Naruto said cheerfully.

"Yesterday night," Sasuke said, in his usual, short response answers. Sasuke came back because he had successfully killed Itachi, his older brother. And now that his life goal was complete, he came back to Konoha. He had killed Orochimaru before he set out to find his brother and take his vengeance on him.

"Oh, cool!" Naruto gasped dramatically. "Now, CAN WE GO GET RAMEN?! WE CAN BE LIKE THE OLD TEAM 7 AGAIN!" Naruto screamed.

Sakura hit Naruto on the back of his head and closed her eyes, "Stop screaming, idiot." But she smiled slightly, the kind that only comes out when she is with Naruto. He was like a big brother to her. When he came back from training, he was the only one who could make Sakura truly smile again. Of course, there was still the rest of her team and her master, but she could only smile truly with Naruto. "And, he is obviously not in any condition to go around walking."

Without a glance at Sasuke, she then turned around and left the room, leaving the 2 boys alone.

Sakura, for the next couple of days, had to check up on Sasuke, everyday, 3 times a day. The other nurses who weren't Sakura's friends, glared at her for getting so much time to spend with their precious "Sasuke-kun." But Sakura would be happy to leave him with them.

After 2 weeks of this had gone by, she decided that Sasuke could leave the hospital, "You're free to leave whenever you want to. Your injuries have been healed enough, but you still need to come back every 2 or 3 days for a physical check up to see how you're doing." She said while writing on her clipboard on how his condition was.

Sasuke nodded and before either of them could move, Naruto came bursting through the door. "HI!" he announced.

"Hey," Sakura absentmindedly said, finishing up her notes.

"Is Teme allowed to leave?" Naruto asked Sakura.

Sakura looked up at him and nodded, putting the clipboard full of notes on the desk near Sasuke.

"GREAT! NOW LET'S GO GET RAMEN!" e said.

No one answered.

"AW, COME ON! PLEEEEAAAASE?" Naruto begged.

"Hn. Whatever, dobe," Sasuke answered.

Naruto took this as a yes and cheered. Then he turned to Sakura who sighed.

"I still have another patient to heal before I am relieved of my duties for today, so if you can control your temptations," she looked at Naruto, who nodded excitedly, "I guess I'll join as well," she said sighing.

Naruto grinned. "But don't take too long, I'm really hungry." As if to prove his point, his stomach growled.

Sakura smiled slightly. "Sure, Naruto."

She left the room and went to the room next to Sasuke's. After healing the little girl who had broken her arm, she wiped her forehead to get rid of the sweat and went outside.

Sakura saw Naruto and Sasuke sitting in the chairs in the waiting room, Naruto talking to Sasuke animatedly while he ignored the "dobe."

Naruto stopped talking once he saw Sakura. "Sakura-chan!" He got up, pulling up Sasuke with him. "LET'S GO!"

After Sakura had put away her medical supplies and signed out, showing that she was done for the day, the three walked to Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto, who was in the middle of the two, with Sasuke on his left, Sakura on the right. Naruto being Naruto couldn't stand the silence and tried to strike up a conversation, only to having the attempt fail when neither of them replied or only answered with short responses.

All the while they were walking there, they could hear the villager's whispers.

Some were about Sasuke, "Hey, isn't that the Uchiha boy?" "Yeah, what is he doing in our village?" "Tch, he's just a traitor, that's what."

Others were remarks about Sakura, mostly from her "fanboys." "Oh my God, it's Sakura-san!" "She's so beautiful!" "I know! Look at those legs!" "I would love to take her on a date!"

Naruto growled at both "groups" of villagers, feeling protectiveness over his friends.

When they reached Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto went to go place their orders after each had told them what they wanted.

Sakura decided to say something voluntarily to Sasuke, something she hadn't done since he came back. "So, hurt anyone else yet?" she sneered. "Left someone else on a bench? Broken anyone's else's heart?" she said.

Sasuke just looked up at her from where he was observing the changes in the village, wondering why she suddenly talked. Once he realized what she said, he narrowed his eyes.

"Konoha is not some rag-tag village that you can just waltz in and out of, you know. You are a traitor of the village, and I am surprised that you weren't killed when first sighted," she smirked. "Tell me, Sasuke, is life everything you expected it to be once you killed your brother?"

Before Sasuke could retort back, Naruto came back with 7 bowls of ramen in his hands. He gave one to each Sasuke and Sakura and 5 for himself. He did love ramen. All throughout eating, Naruto talked and talked about things, trying to catch up with Sasuke. Sasuke just usually answered with a grunt, a nod or didn't say anything at all. Sakura just stared at him the whole time, not saying a word.

Afterwards, Sakura stood up while Naruto was still talking. "I'm going to train. Bye," she curtly said, placing enough money for her ramen bowl on the table.

Sasuke watched as she turned on her heel and walked away. He stared at her walking away from them before turning his gaze back to Naruto. He really wanted to ask what was wrong with her, why she was acting like this, and for once, he did.

"Dobe."

"Yeah, teme?" Naruto replied, slurping up his 6th bowl of ramen, which he recently ordered.

"What happened to Sakura?" he asked, keeping his laconic attitude.

Naruto's cheery mood instantly dropped and he frowned. He gulped down the rest of the ramen before saying, "We really shouldn't talk about this here, I don't think she wants anyone else to know," Naruto said, glancing around at the other tables full of people.

They both paid for their ramen and they walked to Naruto's apartment. "After you left, Sakura-chan locked herself in her house. She cried and starved herself for days. It got so bad that Tsunade-obaa-chan had to send some elite ninja to get her out," Naruto explained, plopping on his couch, while Sasuke sat a bit farther away from him.

Sasuke was shocked, although he didn't show it on his face. He expected something bad, but not this terrible.

Naruto continued. "Then, one day, she just snapped. She wore different clothes, changed her hair and her cheery personality was gone. When I came back from training with Ero-sennin, she was cold-hearted and emotionless. She became Tsunade-obaa-chan's apprentice and trained under her for 3 years. She is a skilled kunoichi, having insane strength, medical skills and genjutsu abilities." He grinned, "She can really punch, you know." He remembered once when he was about to do his "Orioke no Jutsu" when Sakura punched him, which had knocked him out cold for a few hours. "She is a valued jounin. Actually, she could have been in ANBU, they offered her a position to which she declined, saying that she was content as a jounin and a medic working in the hospital."

Sasuke met Naruto's gaze. _ANBU? Why would she decline?_

Somehow, Naruto read Sasuke's mind. "Yeah, I know right? She's really strong. Neji and Tenten are also part of the ANBU."

_I am not surprised about Hyuuga, but Tenten?_

"When I came back, about half a year ago, I expected _s__ome_ change in her, but not like what she had turned into to. She was no longer that sweet little girl from before. When I asked Tsunade-obaa-chan, she said that Sakura hadn't smiled or laughed for the past two and a half years, only trained. I felt terrible and did everything to make Sakura smile or act like she did before, so carefree. And bit by bit, she started coming back, but that girl from before is gone, replaced by a cold-hearted, emotionless fighting machine."

Sasuke felt like he was punched in the stomach. He needed to sever his bonds with Konoha in order to achieve his bonds so nothing could hold him back. He knew that bonds only bring sorrow, he learned that the hard way.

He avoided Naruto's gaze and looked around his apartment. His eyes landed on the photograph Team 7, their old team when they were Genin, took that he, Sakura and Kakashi all had a copy of too. In the photo, Sasuke looked irritated, not looking at the camera, with a glare on his face. Naruto was glaring at Sasuke because Sasuke had called him a "Urusantonkichi" before the photo. Kakashi was behind them, a hand placed on both of their heads, his one visible eye curved, showing his happiness. Sakura was in the middle, looking as happy as ever, her eyes closed and a huge smile plastered on her face.

After a long silence, Sasuke said, "I'm going to go train."

He instantly went to the training grounds he trained on as a kid, ignoring Tsunade's orders to refrain from training. When he entered the training area, he quickly hid as he sensed a familiar chakra. _Sakura._

Sasuke watched as Sakura, who was pulling her gloves over her hands, concentrated and closed her eyes. Then, she snapped her eyes open and punched the ground. _Hard._

The impact sent ripples in the ground and the earth cracked beneath her, it was like a mini earthquake. She dusted off her hands and looked around at her work, with a criticizing eye. She pursed her lips as if she thought it wasn't good enough. Afterwards, she started to walk away and before Sasuke knew it, Sakura was behind him holding a kunai to his neck. He inhaled sharply.

"What are you a stalker now as well as a heart-breaker?" Sakura was way past pissed. Who does he think he is? Just coming into the village, being irritating and then watching her?

"I came here to train," Sasuke said calmly, despite the knife that was being held dangerously close to his neck.

Sakura's hand didn't falter, but after a while she lowered the ninja tool and left without saying another word. Sasuke just shook his head and went to another section of the large training area that wasn't ruined.

Sasuke trained well after 10:00 P.M. He decided to go home and get some rest. When he was on his way home, he looked up at the night sky and filled his lungs with fresh air. When Sasuke looked back at the road in front of him, an ANBU member was right ahead.

"You have been summoned at the Hokage Tower," The ANBU member simply said, before they vanished and smoke was all that was left behind.

Sasuke sighed and started to head to the Hokage Tower.

When he reached there, Tsunade said, "I know you've been training."

He rolled his eyes.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" She bellowed, getting frustrated. "You know as well as I do that you aren't in any condition to be doing that. And if you haven't forgotten, you are under probation!"

"Hn." He grunted, crossing his arms, flinching ever so slightly because of her loud voice. He didn't like the word "probation," it made him feel like a criminal. But then again, to some people in the village, wasn't he? He was a rogue ninja, and he also had special treatment, he was lucky enough not to be killed. The only reason why he was still alive was because of Naruto. Naruto persuaded Tsunade to not allow anyone to kill the missing-ninja if seen. Therefore, his life had been spared.

"As a punishment, you have to stay in the hospital tonight," Tsunade said sternly.

"What?" he hissed.

Tsunade nodded expectantly. "It's for your own well-being."

Sasuke rolled his eyes again. "Whatever," he stormed off towards the hospital without being dismissed by the Hokage. As much as he didn't want to stay at the hospital, he knew that getting Tsunade angry would not be a wise choice. If that woman got mad at him, it would be as if he is as good dead.

**~Sakura~**

Afterwards, Sakura stood up while Naruto was still talking. "I'm going to train. Bye." After setting down a wad of cash, enough to pay for her ramen, she walked off, feeling Sasuke's gaze on her back.

As she walked to the training grounds, she felt anger boiling inside of her and she really felt like punching something, so she walked faster to the training area. She worked on her chakra control for a while, working on a new jutsu that Tsunade had told her to master, until she felt another person's chakra, even though it was faint.

Sakura ignored it for the time being, telling herself that someone might just be passing by, or it might be a fanboy. Sakura had developed many "fanboys" over the past years. But that was to be expected. Who wouldn't drool after a strong, well-built kunoichi of Konoha? She had the looks, strength, smarts, everything. Who wouldn't want to be her boyfriend? She was used to being "stalked" but she usually glared at them enough to make them leave her alone.

Sakura pulled on her black gloves and slammed her fist into the ground, creating an earthquake-like effect. She looked around, still not satisfied, but she could feel someone watching, only then feeling it as Sasuke's chakra.

In a flash, she was behind him, holding a kunai to his neck.

"What are you a stalker now as well as a heart-breaker?" Sakura was way past pissed. Who does he think he is? Just coming into the village, being irritating and then watching her?!

"I came here to train," he replied monotonously, with no emotion in his voice.

Sakura's hand didn't falter, but after a while she lowered the ninja tool and left without saying another word. She didn't want to get even more angry and she needed to cool down. She decided to go to her home and make some dinner.

After she had eaten, she decided to go take a walk, to clear her mind.

She felt someone's presence behind her and she whipped around and took out a kunai. She saw someone's silhouette and noticed the unique raven hair. Sasuke.

Sasuke was on his way to the hospital, and when he sensed Sakura's chakra, he decided to follow her.

She rolled her eyes and put the kunai back in it's holster. "What do you want?"

"What, I can't take a walk around once in a while?" he smirked.

She scoffed and said, "Yeah, sure. What do you really want?"

"To talk," Sasuke simply said.

Pft. Sasuke wanting to talk? Wasn't it usually the other way around? When did he become all outgoing? On the outside, she raised an eyebrow. "Sure. And Naruto has given up on ramen," she said sarcastically, then turned to walk away, but Sasuke appeared in front of her, halting her.

She glared up at him. _Damn his height!_

He smirked down at her.

"What?" she said, her voice dripping with venom.

"Why are you like this?" he asked.

She squinted her eyes at him, trying to decipher whether this was really Sasuke asking this. He almost seemed concerned.

_How dare he have the nerve? He is the one who left me on a freaking bench in the middle of the night and then comes back three years later like nothing has happened?! Something must be mentally wrong with him._ And before Sakura knew what she was doing, she slapped him. Hard. Across the face.

He glared at her.

"How dare you ask that, you jerk?!" Sakura screamed at him. She wanted to tell him that _he_ was the reason she had turned like this, she wanted to tell him how she had given up on him, she wanted to tell him how she no longer cared about him, but she didn't. She simply stormed away, leaving him glaring at her retreating back.

_I __can't believe he actually said that! The nerve of him! _She decided to go home and took a long, hot bath, calming herself down. When she got out, dressed and brushed her teeth, she went into her room, ready to fall asleep and forget everything that happened today, when she saw Sasuke leaning against her bedpost.

She sighed. "What?!"

Sasuke didn't answer, just simply looked around her room and then back at the pink-haired kunoichi that was standing a few feet away from him.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? I am really tired, and I would like to go to sleep," Sakura said, getting more agitated by the minute. _How dare he intrude into my house in the middle of the night?! He is such a jerk!_

Sasuke raised his eyebrows and then looked at her up and down, it made her uncomfortable, like she was being evaluated.

Sakura sighed deeply for what felt like the millionth time that day and simply walked over to her bed and grabbed Sasuke by the shirt. She pulled him out of her doorway and to the front door. She was about to push him out when he whisked behind her quickly and avoided being kicked out of her house. An Uchiha doesn't get kicked out of someone's house, an Uchiha leaves and comes as he pleases.

Sakura took a deep breath. "I'm going to tell you one more time, Uchiha. Get out." When he did nothing but smirk, she let out a scream of frustration. "UGH! You are so aggravating! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! You have already ruined my life enough!"

Sasuke frowned at this statement._ What did I do so wrong?_

Sakura seemed to read his mind. "What do you not understand?! You _did_ ruin my life!"

Sasuke just raised his eyebrows, slightly amused by her actions.

"GET OUT!" she screamed again.

He just stood there.

Then, Sakura exploded. "You're just a back-stabbing, cold-hearted asshole who never thought that his true friends meant anything to him but a distraction! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH DAMN TROUBLE WE ALL WENT TO TRYING TO GET YOU TO RETURN?! WE ALMOST DIED! AND YOU HAVE NO RECOGNITION OF THAT! AND YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST AN ASSHOLE WHO DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE BUT HIMSELF! YOU HAVE LET EVERYONE DOWN!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her.

Sakura's knees buckled, and she fell to the ground, her cold demeanor, her walls breaking. "You let me down!" Tears streaked down her face and soon she was sobbing uncontrollably, letting out all the emotions that were pent up inside for 3 years. All the hatred, anger, sadness, regret, loneliness she felt, was being displayed. "Please, just...just get out," she pleaded the Uchiha, somehow managing to get out the words between sobs. Even a few words felt like they were choking her. And he did, leaving her in a pool of many mixed emotions.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

HI! I decided to write this fanfiction because if Sasuke ever does come back in the real series, I would want it to be like this. I wouldn't want Sakura "fangirling" all over him, because I think that he doesn't deserve it, even though I think Sasuke is pretty cool, except for being a jerk and leaving, but you know, THINGS HAPPEN IN LIFE. I would want her to be cold-hearted to him, and have Sasuke have a taste of his own medicine. And, I was just wondering, WHY WOULD YOU STILL LOVE SOMEONE AFTER THEY FREAKING KNOCK YOU OUT AND LEAVE YOU ON A BENCH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, WHEN YOU ARE SO FREAKING VULNERABLE?! But, love does do crazy things to people, and I don't have personal experience in love so yeah... WOW, I blab a lot. Heh, sorry. But whatever, it is like 2:34 A.M. and I am still typing. I get my ideas at this time and it makes me feel like an owl. Okay, sooo...PLEASE REVIEW! I am going to update soon, and tell me what you think, because I want to know if I should continue this fanfiction or not. THANKS!**  
**

~ booklover333


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: The characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto and I don't own them.**

**Also, I understand that some people might not want this for Sasuke and Sakura, with like Sakura being cruel to him, but this is how I would want her to act. I wouldn't want her drooling all over him if he comes. So, JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE. :) OKAY, I'll shut up now and let you read.**

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Chapter 2:

Still crying, Sakura shakily stood up and dashed out the door. Locking her front door as quickly as possible, she started to run, tears blinding her vision.

Rain started to fall, as if it was feeling sympathy for the girl who was running through the diagonal sheets of water that were pouring down from the sky.

Running to a familiar door, Sakura banged on it. Seconds later, a tired Kakashi opened the door, his one eye that was visible widening when he saw Sakura. He thought that it would be an ANBU member informing him of a mission, but he didn't expect to find his crying, soaked, pink-haired "daughter" on his doorstep in the middle of the night.

"S-Sakura?" he said. He pulled her inside his home and shut the door. "Stay here, I'll go get some dry clothes."

Sakura nodded weakly and Kakashi momentarily left the girl to get clothes for her.

Coming back seconds later with a pair of black plaid pajama pants that he was sure would be way too big on the girl and a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt, Kakashi gave them to the girl in front of him who muttered a soft, "Thank you" and went to the bathroom to go and change.

Sakura came out a while later, wet clothes in hand. Kakashi took them from her and put them in the dryer, saying that he would put the dryer on tomorrow morning.

Sakura nodded.

Sakura felt comfortable in Kakashi's clothes, they smelled like him and they were warm. It was more than enough.

"Go and take the bed. I'll sleep here for the night," Kakashi said, patting the couch that was next to him.

Sakura shook her head. "No," she paused, hoping it wouldn't come out weird. "Can you sleep next to me?" **(A/N: NOT IN THAT WAY, PERVERTS! THIS IS A SASUSAKU FANFICTION, I HATE THE PAIRING OF KAKASHI AND SAKURA, IT IS REVOLTING!)**

Kakashi smiled slightly. "Of course."

They both went into Kakashi's room and laid down. Sakura started to cry again and Kakashi held her close to him while she clung to his shirt.

Soon enough, they both fell asleep.

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"Sakura-chan!" Naruto pounded on the door. "SAKURA-CHAN! OPEN THE DOOR!"

Sakura groaned, pulled off the sheets she was comfortably wrapped in on the couch and went to open the door. She had recently come home from Kakashi's and was sitting on the couch, thinking about the previous day's events. Opening the door, she was met with Naruto's worried expression. "What do you want, Naruto?"

"What happened last night?!" he said, ignoring her question.

"Nothing happened," Sakura walked back to her living room couch, with Naruto following close behind her after he closed the door.

"Don't say that, I know Sasuke was here."

"And how would you know that?" Sakura said, sitting down on the couch.

He sat down beside her. "Teme told me."

"Why?" Sakura inquired. "What did he tell you?" She didn't want Naruto to find out she had cried, he cared for her deeply and hated to see her hurt.

"He said that he went to talk to you and you screamed at him to leave," Naruto paused. "He also told me that you were crying."

_Damn that Uchiha._ "So what?"

"What do you mean 'so what'? WHAT DID THAT TEME SAY TO YOU?!"

"Nothing."

"Then why were you crying?" he asked.

"I wasn't!"

"WHY ARE YOU LYING?" Naruto said.

Sakura just wanted Naruto to leave. Today was her one day she decided to take off work, and he had to ruin the peace. "WHY DO YOU CARE?!"

"Because I care for you," Naruto said, calming down a bit.

"Well, don't! I don't need you to care for me! Care for that jerk instead!"

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sakura didn't say anything and looked away. She brought her knees up to her face and rested her chin atop them. Naruto's gaze softened at her and he wrapped a reassuring arm around Sakura. Sakura slightly leaned into his familiar body. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Naruto. You were only trying to help."

Naruto just nodded and said, "If you want to talk about something, tell me."

Sakura just nodded slightly and closed her eyes. After a while, when Naruto left, Sakura went to take a shower. Afterwards, she decided to read some of her medical books that Tsunade-sama had recommended. As she was finishing a chapter about important herbs, someone rang the doorbell. Thinking about who it could be, she went to the front door and opened it. She saw the last person she wanted to see: Sasuke. He had a bag with him and his face was as plain as ever.

She was about to close the door when Sasuke's palm stopped the door from closing. He walked in without being invited and shut the door behind him. "What do you want now? Haven't you done enough damage?"

Sasuke didn't say anything as he sat down on the couch and made himself comfortable. Sakura raised her eyebrows at his actions and said, "What do you think you're doing?"

Sasuke looked at her. "It's not like it's my choice."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Tsunade's orders."

Her eyes widened, hoping it wouldn't be what she thought it would. _Damn it!_ She hurriedly put on her shoes and started to open the door. Then she realized that Sasuke was still in her home and she wasn't about to just leave him alone. "Come on, then!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and got up.

Sakura closed the door behind them once he was out and poofed into smoke.

Sasuke was slightly impressed that she could already do that. He did the same and soon found himself in the Hokage Tower. Sakura was already there.

_She's faster than me?_ He glared at her.

Not noticing Sasuke's glare, Sakura opened the door to Tsunade's office after she was told to come in.

"Ah, Sakura. What brings you here?" Tsunade said.

Sakura stared at her. "What? What brings me here? That," she pointed at the Uchiha who was standing to the side with his hands in his pockets indifferently. "That brought me here!" she knew she was being disrespectful to her master, but at the moment she didn't care.

"What about him?" she calmly asked.

"Why was he at my house?!"

Tsunade frowned. "You mean, you don't know?"

"Know what?" Sakura was starting to get frustrated.

"That lazy Shikamaru. He didn't tell you, I suppose?" _He probably fell asleep on the way there._

"Shikamaru?" Sakura inquired. "No, he didn't tell me anything."

"Uchiha has to stay with you until his probation is lifted," Tsunade spoke carefully, knowing her words would anger the girl in front of her.

"WHAT?! WHY?!" Sakura screamed. "Why can't Naruto or Kakashi do it?"

"Kakashi is leaving for a mission today. And, I can't trust Naruto and Sasuke alone. They might blow up the whole village."

Sakura sighed, knowing her master was right. "Fine. But for how long?"

Tsunade laced her fingers together. "8 months."

"What?!"

"Sakura, I know. But, please. We can't let him be by himself. He will be escorted by 2 ANBU members everywhere he goes, but he just needs to stay at your house. You don't have to see him at all during the day if you don't want to."

Sakura sighed again. "Fine."

"Thank you, Sakura."

And with that, Sakura left, grumbling all the way to her house. Sasuke had kept silent throughout the whole thing as he had already known. He was somewhat happy that she wasn't ogling over the idea and accepting it right away. At least now he knew that he would be left alone most of the time.

He had a bit trouble in following her as she was walking insanely fast. When Sakura was about to turn on the road she had to go on to get to her house, she stopped. I need more food. I'm sure Tsunade-sama would not be happy if I let him die of starvation.

Hastily turning the opposite away, almost bumping into Sasuke, she went to the grocery store. There she bought some food items with Sasuke standing there, not helping.

She paid for them and started on the way home again.

When she got home, she put the items in their respective place in her kitchen.

Sasuke was sitting on the couch again, looking around.

"Are you going to do anything, or just sit there?" she asked.

He didn't answer.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Do whatever you want, but don't bother me, or you're going to be sorry you were ever born." With that, she went back to her room, slamming the door shut. Sasuke looked around the room, not seeing much, he decided to go bother Sakura anyway.

"Hey!" Sakura yelled when he entered her room without knocking. "You can't just do that! What if I was doing something private?"

Sasuke just laid down on her bed. "So?"

"What do you mean 'so'? You can't just come in here and barge in whenever you like!"

Sasuke didn't say anything, so she started reading again. She could feel Sasuke's eyes on her as she read, and it made her feel uncomfortable. After a while, Sakura said, "What? Why do you keep staring at me?"

"I'm trying to figure something out."

"What?" Sakura said, agitated by the man in her room.

"Why you're acting so strange," Sasuke said.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean, I've always been like this."

Sasuke shook his head. "Not when we were kids."

"What?"

"You're acting different than when you were when you were a child."

"Well, it's called growing up. Maybe you should learn about it sometime," Sakura retorted back.

"You were never like this before," Sasuke bluntly said.

"I don't care about your opinion of me."

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm just saying that you're much weirder than before."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "Did you just call me weird, Uchiha?"

Sasuke smirked. "So what if I did?"

"Ugh, you are so difficult!" Sakura screamed in frustration.

He didn't answer, smirking instead of saying anything.

"Don't you have anything better to do than irritate me?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm on probation and Tsunade restricted me from going to the training grounds. She even put this on me." He pointed to his ankle to show Sakura a black band that had a red, blinking light on it.

"A tracker?" Now I know what that key Tsunade-sama gave me is for. Sakura smirked. "She probably thinks you are going to run off again."

"I didn't run away," he said, irritated. "I simply traveled to another place to complete a goal of mine."

"Psh, yeah right. We both know that you ran away to seek power. That turned out well," she said sarcastically.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. "Little girls who don't know what they're talking about should keep their mouths shut."

Sakura glared at him. "Little girls? I'm not a little girl!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You act like it."

"Whatever. Could you leave and annoy Naruto instead?"

"That dobe? No, he's probably going to make me go eat ramen with him. Again.

Besides, I'm on _probation_, baka." Sasuke said.

A vein popped on Sakura's forehead. "Then go somewhere else! Just leave me alone!"

Sasuke smirked. "Why? It's not like you've got anything better to do."

"I do have a life, you know, unlike you."

"Yeah, okay," Sasuke replied sarcastically.

"Besides, today is my day off and I want to enjoy it!"

He smirked.

"Stop smirking, you are so annoying!"

"Hn, that's my line."

Sakura scowled, remembering when they were kids and he used to call her "annoying." It broke her heart when she was younger, but now she felt like he needed to be punched. "Want me to injure you more than you already are, Uchiha?"

"Hn, I'd like to see you try."

"OH, I WILL!"

This made Sasuke smirk more. Sakura, fed up with his stupid smirking, stood up and went to the kitchen, to make something to eat. When she came back from having a quick lunch, Sasuke was reading something. She recognized it as her old diary. "Give that back, you jerk!" She snatched the item away from him and clutched onto it. "You don't just go through people's things!"

"Hn, you wrote weird things."

"First, you barge into my home, invade my privacy and now you are criticizing me? You're such an asshole!" She pointed at the door, "Now get out of my room, otherwise I'm going to force you out!"

"No, I'm fine, I'll stay."

"It was not a request, but a demand, Uchiha!" Sakura said.

Sasuke paid no attention to her and she rolled her eyes, deciding that she was going to push him off her bed, since she wanted to lay down and read. She walked over to her bed, went to the other side and pushed him off, with which he landed ungracefully on the floor. He groaned and once he got up, he glared at Sakura, who was now happily sitting on her bed, pulling out her book. He growled and went to the other side of the bed, settling down on it again.

"What do you think you're doing, get down from my bed."

"I'm okay."

Sakura scooted all the way to the edge of the bed, trying to put as much distance as she could between them, which made Sasuke raise his eyebrows at her actions. Sakura paid no attention to him and started reading. Sasuke, curious of what she was reading, leaned over to look at her book.

Sakura could feel his breath on her neck and it made shivers go down her spine. She cleared her throat, and slightly turned to him, "What are you doing?"

"I'm bored and so I wanted to see what you were reading."

"Well, don't."

"Why?" He asked.

"Just because," the real reason was that she didn't want him to be too close to her, it made her feel uncomfortable.

Sasuke squinted his eyes, trying to figure out what her problem was.

Sakura fully turned to him, their faces only centimeters apart. Sakura blushed. Sasuke saw this and smirked, leaning closer, which made Sakura lean back. She almost fell off the bed, since she was so close to the edge to begin with. Sasuke grabbed her just in time and she muttered out a "thanks," and left the room.

Sakura walked to her bathroom, splashing her burning, red face with water to calm herself down. When she went back to her room, she saw Sasuke going through one of her drawers. She raised her eyebrows expectantly, wanting an explanation. Sasuke said nothing and plopped back down on her bed.

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing."

"You were looking for something, right?" Sakura said, she had a pretty good idea what it was.

"Maybe."

"I'm not giving you the key." Tsunade had given her a key yesterday. It was for the Uchiha's tracker.

"Why?" he asked frustrated.

"Because, you need that thing on you. We never know when you are going to run off again."

"I wouldn't have come back just to 'run off' again," he retorted.

"Well, maybe. You were in critical condition and technically you didn't come back by yourself. An ANBU member found you and brought you back, so you could be healed. No one knows what your true intentions are."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, not wanting to be told off by a girl.

"So why haven't you left yet?"

Sasuke said, "What?"

"I know you don't want to be here, in Konoha, so why are you still here?"

"Who said that?"

"Oh come on, you don't return for 3 years, then when you are brought back, you don't make any move to leave? Yeah, that's just not right," Sakura said. "What are your real intentions?"

Sasuke sighed, this was way too much talking for one day. "To gain Konoha's trust again."

"Psh, you are the one who says that trust and bonds make someone weak," she paused. "Why don't you leave?"

"Why would I?"

"I don't know!" she screamed in frustration. "Because you are so unpredictable and all you do is hurt others without realizing it!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her.

Sakura looked away, realizing what she had just said. She didn't mean to say it out loud, but it was true. He was a jerk for leaving her like that without even thinking twice about it. "You don't know how much you hurt me when you left," she said in a small voice.

"Hn. It wasn't intentional."

"See?! That's what I mean. You didn't even know it!" she looked at him. "You hated me and now I know why. I was a stupid, annoying, useless girl who always got hurt and needed to be protected." _That's why I changed...for you._

"Who said I hated you?"

Sakura was confused. "W-Well, you never talked freely with me, you always called me 'annoying' and I know, at least now, that I was irritating."

"That didn't mean I hated you. I just didn't like you because you were so hung up on me. I was trying to do you a favor, so you could give up on me and become a better shinobi," he said like it didn't mean anything, which made Sakura question whether it was true or not.

"Well, I-I just thought you did. It was pretty hard not to," she looked away. "Sorry," she mumbled quietly.

There was a silence.

"Why...Why did you decide not to leave Konoha? Building trust again, I get it, but that's probably not the only reason why." Sakura asked.

"I already completed my goal of killing Itachi. Now, I need to rebuild my clan."

"Oh…" she bit her lip from laughing at the thought of Sasuke actually being with someone. That was impossible though. Sakura laid on her bed, sighing.

Sasuke made himself comfortable on the other side.

"Are you going to leave anytime soon or what?" Sakura asked.

He didn't answer. Sakura decided to let him be, she knew he wasn't going to listen to her anyway.

She read her book and the day passed by slowly.

When it was around 5:00, she decided to start making dinner.

Looking over at Sasuke, she noticed he had fallen asleep.

Leaving him in her room, she went to the kitchen to make dinner. Sasuke came into the kitchen tiredly when she was finishing up.

"Good morning," she joked. "Want to eat something?"

He nodded and sat down in one of the chairs next to the small table. Sakura sat down as well after she had filled both of their plates up and they ate in silence.

At the end, Sakura said, "You have to help with the dishes."

He glared at her.

"Hey, I'm letting you live here, so you have to help me around the house."

"Hn," he grunted.

Sakura washed the dishes while Sasuke dried them and put them away.

Afterwards, Sakura went into her bedroom and took out a futon from her closet. Looking at Sasuke who had followed her, she said, "I only have one bedroom, so you have to sleep either on the floor or the couch in the living room." Sakura's house only had a small kitchen, living room, bathroom and one bedroom. It was more than enough for one person to live in, but kind of tight for 2.

"Why can't we both sleep on your bed, it's big enough." Sasuke retorted. It was true, Sakura liked big spaces when she slept and her bed was more than enough for 2 people.

"No," she said. "You are not sleeping in the same bed as me."

"Well, shouldn't you be a nice host and give me the bed instead?"

"Well, shouldn't you be grateful that I am letting you even stay here?"

"It wasn't really your choice."

"It wasn't your's either!" Sakura was getting mad. "You are involuntarily staying here and since this is my house, I MAKE THE DAMN RULES! Got it, Uchiha?"

"Tch," Sasuke said, looking away.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "So, floor or couch?"

Sasuke didn't say anything, but just plopped his bag on the floor of her bedroom.

"How did I know you would choose that?" she chucked the futon at him, which he skillfully caught.

Sakura retreated into the bathroom, changing into the pair of black shorts and white t-shirt she had grabbed before as her pajamas.

After Sakura had brushed and changed, she plopped on her bed and read a book. Sasuke was laying in his futon, staring at the wall. Sakura kept glancing back at him nervously. "Aren't you bored? You are just sitting there, staring at the ceiling," she finally asked.

Sasuke shook his head slightly and said, "No."

Sakura shrugged and kept reading. After about an hour, she decided that she wanted to go to bed, since it was getting late and she was tired from all the events of today. "I'm turning off the light, okay?"

"Hn," he responded.

Sakura shut off the light and slid under her comfy bedsheets and tried to fall asleep. It was kind of hard considering the man she hated, loved and was kind of scared of was in her room, not even 5 feet from her.

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**Author's Note:**

**That was awkward, right? Well, whatever. I'm so sorry that it took me almost a month to update, but with the other two stories, another story I am working on and summer assignments, I have been pretty busy. SO DON'T KILL ME! Please review to tell me what you think and give me some ideas. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto and I don't own them.**

**ZOMG! I'm so sorry that I haven't update in like what...almost 5 months...? hehe . I'M REALLY SORRY. I FEEL TERRIBLE. That's why I literally spent 3 hours writing this chapter and editing the 1st and 2nd one, which by the way I have _completely changed_. So, if you want to understand things in this chapter, _please_ go back and re-read the 1st and 2nd chapters. THANKS! Read &amp; Review! **

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Chapter 3:

Sakura woke up with a start, beads of sweat lining her forehead. She took deep breaths of air, trying to calm herself down. Sakura sat up in her bed, wrapping her arms around her knees, protectively.

"I-I'm so sorry. I-I'll be better now," she murmured. "P-Please...Please just forgive me."

"What are you talking about?" A voice groaned.

Sakura's head shot up, looking around frantically for the supposed intruder. Then, she recognized that voice. "S-Sasuke?" She remembered how he was staying with her.

Sasuke sighed. "What are you talking about?" she acted oblivious.

"O-Oh! N-Nothing!"

Sasuke sighed again and sat up. "It was obviously something."

"It's nothing you need to know about, so mind your own business!" Sakura snapped.

Sasuke looked at her. "Fine, don't tell me," he lay back down.

Sakura scowled at him, she knew what he was trying to do but she wasn't going to answer.

There was a moment of silence and they both were still awake, waiting for the other to say something.

Finally, Sakura was getting tired of it. "Fine! I'll tell you!"

Sasuke smirked and sat up again, but this time, he got out of his futon and crawled over to Sakura's bed, sitting next to her.

Sakura scowled more at him and moved away from Sasuke as far as she could before she began her story. "My...My parents, about 2 years ago, went on an S-Ranked Mission, to capture a missing-nin. And u-um, their team and them needed medical help, so a couple of medical ninjas and I went to aid them. And when I got there, they were in _really _bad condition and everything. The other medical ninjas got attacked and since they weren't really that experienced in fighting, t-they died. I, however was able to fend for myself, so I killed the enemy off and then went to go heal my parents and their team. My parents told me to heal the other members first, so I-I did and then when they were, I went to my parents. B-But, then more attackers came and captured all 3 of us. The rest of my parents' team was able to get away. I-I woke up, beaten and my parents were in front of me, in worse condition than before. S-So I tried to break out of the chains I was in but," tears collected in her eyes. Sasuke could see them but didn't do anything, "it didn't work. And then, the attackers came and I-I don't know, they must have used some type of jutsu that controlled me and they made me… they made me k-kill my parents." Tears came and she wrapped her arms around herself, shaking.

Sasuke was surprised, he never would have known something was wrong with her unless she said something.

"I-I know _I _didn't kill them, b-but they didn't know that the enemy was controlling me, s-so their screams...I can still hear them," she said softly, cries making her words hard to understand. "I-I even have physical scars that w-won't heal and everytime I see them, I-I think of them and-" she cried more.

"Can you show them to me?"

Sakura lifted her head and nodded slightly. "B-But they're pretty bad."

He nodded.

She first lifted her wrists which had lines all over them, evidence that she was tied up harshly. Sasuke ran his hand over them gently, she didn't flinch, which probably meant they didn't hurt as much anymore.

"The same marks are on my ankles," she said.

Sasuke looked down her bare legs to see that she was right, identical marks on both of her ankles were there. How had he not noticed it before?

"There's one on my stomach and my back too." She lifted her shirt slightly so that he could see the lines on her stomach, like he had been sliced with a sword many times.

"T-The worst one's on my back," she started to take off her shirt and Sasuke looked away to give her privacy to which she was grateful for. She turned around so that he could see. When Sasuke heard the rustling stop, he looked at her.

She was right, this was definitely the worst one. He bit his lip slightly. It looked like she had been burned over and over again in the same spot. The wounds were slightly pink and red and the other ones were dark red.

"S-Sakura, did they burn you?"

She nodded. "Y-Yeah, I guess. I don't really remember, but it was after I had k-killed them."

He put his cold hand on her back and she hissed. Retracting his hand back immediately, he said, "Sorry."

She shook her head. "No, please. Put it back. It felt nice."

So he did and after a while, Sasuke said, "How long ago was this?"

"About a year back."

He took away his hand and she put her shirt back on. Climbing under the covers, she looked carefully at Sasuke.

"How did you deal with it?"

She shrugged. "I don't really know. Kakashi and Naruto were there to help. And so was Hinata, Neji-kun, Kiba-kun, Lee-san and everyone else."

"Ahh," Sasuke couldn't help but feel that he should have been there too. But why did he feel like that?

"Sasuke?" Sakura called.

"Yeah?"

She smiled slightly. "Thanks for listening."

He smirked and shook his head. "Thanks for telling me."

"Wow," Sakura said. "_Uchiha Sasuke_ said thanks _and _sorry all in one night," she smirked. "It's a miracle."

"Shut up," he blushed slightly, sliding down to the floor and back into his futon.

She smiled at him, laying down in bed, staring at the ceiling above her. She then seriously said, "Do you ever get nightmares?"

"Yeah. All the time," he said, looking back up at the ceiling. "But I try to drag myself through it, there's no relief in waking up."

She smiled bitterly. "I get what you mean, but the more I sleep through the nightmares, the more scared I am when I wake up. That's why I usually go to Kakashi or Naruto whenever I do," she laughed slightly. "God, I couldn't even imagine how irritating it must have been to wake up every night to open the door to a crying girl."

"How would they have helped?" he asked.

She shrugged, even though he couldn't see it. "They slept with me."

Sasuke choked. "W-What?"

Sakura sat up in bed. "Oh my god, no, not like _that_. Pervert!" she flopped down on the bed again.

"Your word choice, not mine."

"I know, but still," she took a breath. "Anyway, yeah. They...I don't know...I felt like they protected me. I felt like a child when I was with them, but I was safe."

"Hn."

"Yeah."

Sasuke and Sakura were silent for a while until Sasuke said, "How do you feel now?"

She was hoping he wouldn't ask that. She bit her lip. "I-I...honestly? I feel scared...angry."

"Why?" He had a pretty good idea why.

"Well, you just came into my life again after I was starting to get better. I've been through so much in my life and I thought that it would be better if you were never in my life again. But then, you just show up out of nowhere and now, you're living with me. A-And you're in the same room as me and I don't know...it's strange."

He didn't answer. How were you supposed to answer to that? _He_ felt like the nuisance this time, the _annoyance_, not her.

"I'm sorry," he said after the longest time.

She didn't answer, so he thought that she had fallen asleep since he had taken so long to answer. Whatever...it didn't matter...But then...why did it hurt?

He turned on his side and closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep when he heard a muffled sob.

He looked at her to see her covering her mouth and tears rolling her face. He rolled his eyes. "Why do you have to cry so much?"

She laughed a bit through her crying. "Because of you, you idiot. I'm always crying because of you."

"Hn," he mumbled.

They both stopped talking, laid down and fell asleep, no nightmares coming to haunt either of them.

The next day, Sakura woke up earlier than him. The sunlight poured into her room and she yawned, sitting up.

Rubbing her eyes, she got out of her bed and went to go to the bathroom when she tripped over Sasuke.

"Oomph!" Sakura said, falling on him.

Sasuke groaned from the sudden weight on him and woke up. His eyes wide when he saw that she was on top of him. _What the hell. Is she trying to rape me?!_

"Sakura…?" he said.

"Hi," she nervously said. "Umm...I fell."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well then, would you get off?"

"U-Uh, yeah," she hastily got off.

She did and ran out of the room to go to the bathroom.

Sasuke shook his head and covered his eyes with his arm to settle down his faint blush.

After a while, he got up too and went to kitchen to see Sakura making breakfast.

She refused to look at him.

He sat on the dining table, watching her.

After a quick breakfast, Sakura showered and changed quickly, saying to Sasuke, "I have to go to work. Um… I don't really know what you can do but you're free to read some of my books, but do not go through my things or I will hurt you."

Sasuke smirked at her threat. "Can I come to the hospital with you?"

"You want to? And I'm not going there first, first I'm going to Tsunade-sama."

He shrugged. "Okay."

"Okay, I guess."

Once Sasuke was dressed, they left for the Hokage Tower.

"Come in!" Tsunade said.

They entered and Tsunade said, "Why is the Uchiha with you?"

Sakura shrugged. "He wanted to come."

"Okay," she said unsurely. "Well, Sakura, then you can spar with him."

"What? I thought you said he wasn't allowed to train?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, but he's going to help you train."

Sasuke scowled. He didn't even get a say in this.

Sakura sighed. "Yes, Master." She turned around and grabbed his wrist. "Come on."

Tsunade smiled at the two. _I hope she's doing okay with him. I know it must be hard for you, Sakura, but please, I'm doing this so that you can get better._

Sakura led Sasuke to the training ground Team 7 used to train on when they were little. Sakura smiled, remembering the bridge they always used to meet on.

She looked at the 3 posts that were still there, Sasuke following her gaze.

"Is this…?" Sasuke asked, he knew he didn't need to finish.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. That's where we all became a team," she smiled happily. Then, she turned her gaze to Sasuke. "Now, let's warm up first."

Sasuke nodded.

Many kicks, punches and dodges later, Sakura and Sasuke took a break, panting. Sitting down next to each other against a tree, Sasuke stated, "You've gotten a bit better since last time."

Sakura's eye twitched. "A _bit?_! It's been like 3 years since you saw me spar and I only got a _bit_ better?!"

"It'll take more than that to beat me."

"If you haven't noticed, you're panting too and that was just a warm up, idiot."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Tch."

"Fine, then. Let's spar for real," Sakura said, hopping up.

"Okay," Sasuke felt nice, training again, instead of having to be cooped up in a house and do nothing.

An hour later, the training ground was destroyed, their clothes tattered, bruises on their body in every place and they were both breathless. Still, they charged at each other.

Sakura vanished suddenly and Sasuke looked around. Cursing, he jumped for the trees, but she already knew his position while he didn't know hers.

Next thing Sasuke knew, she had jumped on him and pushed him to the ground.

Sakura climbed on top of him, holding him down with her knees. Putting an arm across his chest to keep him from moving, she put a kunai to his neck.

"Heh," she panted. "I win," she whispered with the last strength she had.

"Tch," Sasuke said, his chest rising and falling. "I let you win."

Sakura laughed a bit, dropping the kunai. "As if." She rolled off of him and rested her

weight on the ground with her elbows.

Sasuke sat up in the same position as hers and sighed. "Whatever. I haven't trained in a while."

Sakura scoffed. "Yeah, okay. You just don't want to admit that you lost. To a girl. _Me._"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and fell back onto the ground. He covered his eyes from the sun with his arm. He was embarrassed. He was an _Uchiha_, and he had just lost to a girl. _Sakura._ The one who always lost and needed to be protected on missions.

Was she stronger than him now? _No_. He refused to believe that. She just got lucky.

"Don't think I just got lucky, Uchiha," Sakura threatened.

Sasuke looked at her, mentally asking her if she could read minds. Turns out, she couldn't because she didn't respond to his mental question.

"Well," Sakura checked her watch. "I got to go work at the hospital. You're coming, right?"

Sasuke nodded, wondering how she could still find the strength to go to the hospital and heal people now.

They got up, brushed themselves off and walked towards the hospital.

On the way there, Sakura healed the biggest bruise she got from Sasuke. He had thrown a kunai, but she thought there was only one, when in reality, there was 2. One she deflected, the other buried itself in her thigh.

When she was healed, she felt way better and asked Sasuke if he had any bruises she wanted him to heal.

He had one on his arm that she knew of, but he had too much pride to say anything.

She jabbed his arm and he groaned, glaring at her.

"See? You do have an injury," she stopped walking. She could heal herself while walking, but she didn't want to mess up on anyone else's injury so she sat down on a nearby bench, the Uchiha following her. "Give me your arm."

He did so reluctantly and within seconds, she had healed the gash she had given him with her chakra strings from before.

Then, she and him walked the rest of the way to Konoha's hospital. Once Sakura checked in and saw what she had to do for her duties today, she turned to Sasuke.

"So are you just going to wait here or…?"

He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes. "Do whatever you want, just don't bother anyone or me."

She walked off to her first patient which was upstairs, leaving Sasuke in the waiting room.

He watched her walk off, thinking she truly had gotten stronger.

_What am I thinking? She's still not strong enough, _Sasuke thought.

He was starting to feel something in his heart, he didn't know what it was, but whatever it was, he didn't like it. Sasuke growled and looked away.

The first thing his eyes laid on was a picture. Looking at it closely, it was of Sakura and Tsunade. They were both smiling and Sakura was holding a certificate, from when she got promoted.

Her smile made him feel the same thing. That same _damned_ feeling. He hated it.

That girl. _She_ was doing this to him. He needed to get out of probation. And soon.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

HEYY! How'd you like it? I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in SO LONG. But I've been really busy with school, other fanfictions, life...and yeah. SORRY. So please review. The more you do, the more chapters come out! :)

~ booklover333


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: The characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, and I don't own them. But I do own the plot, so DON'T TRY AND STEAL IT! IT'S MY IMAGINATION! :P**

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

Two months had passed since Sasuke's probation was given. Sasuke was still living with Sakura in her small house.

The sun pouring in through the window proved that it was indeed a Konoha typical morning, but something was special about this morning. What? Sakura _finally_ had a day off. She hadn't had one since that day after she had cried when Sasuke showed up. Everyday since then, she worked long, strenuous hours, with one small half an hour lunch break in between. Usually, she worked overtime because of all the paperwork and patients she had. She ate dinner when she came home.

Sasuke was now allowed to train, so that he wouldn't go insane sitting at home all day by himself - that is, when he didn't go to the hospital with Sakura and/or help her train.

When he wasn't training, he was reading some of the scrolls or books that Sakura had in her room. That, or watching a movie on Sakura's TV. Other than that, the Uchiha didn't do much and he was starting to feel bored.

Sakura yawned, sitting up in bed. It was already nearing eight, which was late for her to wake up, considering she used to wake up at six each day to go to work and train. She smiled slightly, rubbing her eyes as she had gotten a much-needed good night's rest.

She looked over to Sasuke's bed on the floor to where he was still sleeping. Sakura felt a bit bad that he slept on the floor each day - that couldn't be comfortable - but after all, she _was_ letting him stay in her home.

Sakura glanced at his peaceful face while he slept, as his face was turned towards her. A smile started to appear on her face; he looked so adorable while he was sleeping, almost like you could actually approach him without getting scared off with that glare of his.

Their relationship was getting better. With Naruto, Yamato and Kakashi all helping her, she was able to cope with the Uchiha. He was obviously making somewhat of an effort to not be an ass, courtesy of Naruto and Kakashi's threats. Sasuke realized that she really had become stronger and a lot less annoying. However, with her nagging and motherly-like behavior of "her boys," she could still be a bit of an annoyance.

Naruto and Sasuke had caught up, training with each other now and then. Sasuke found out about Naruto and Hinata's relationship, going on for about 3 months now, and was honestly surprised - not that he hadn't known about Hinata's feelings - but that they had actually gotten together.

Don't get me wrong, Sakura still didn't fully trust or like Sasuke again, but seeing as he made no move to run away from Konoha again and was trying - somewhat - to be..._nicer_ (if that word could be used for Sasuke), she tried to also do the same.

Sakura was pulled out of her thoughts when Sasuke exhaled deeply, a groan mixed in with his breath and his eyebrows furrowed, a harsh crease formed between them. He moved a bit, bringing his knees closer to his body in a fetus type of position and Sakura figured he must be having a bad nightmare. He groaned again and his fingers on his right hand stretched out, as if trying to touch something.

Sakura tilted her head in confusion. _What is he dreaming about? _

His fist then clenched and he groaned again, as if he were in pain. And then, his eyes fluttered open.

He sat up, holding his head. "Damn it," he swore, as the black spots started to go away and his head cleared.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at the source of the sound to see Sakura there. He squinted his eyes in confusion.

Understanding his unspoken question, Sakura stated: "Day off."

He nodded once and brought his knees up, resting his arms on them, a position that seemed to help him before. He exhaled slightly and put his forehead on top of his arms, closing his eyes.

"Are you...okay?" she asked.

Sasuke started to nod, but stopped himself. He wasn't. He knew that. But...did he want to admit that? Especially to someone else? Nonetheless, Sakura? Well...she did tell him about why she got nightmares, so he could tell her...right?

He shook his head softly. _No._ He couldn't tell her - otherwise, she would think of him as weak. That he needed help. Tch, he was an Uchiha and Uchihas don't ask for help. After all, he had his pride. Deciding not to tell her, he kept silent, pressing his lips together so nothing would come out involuntarily.

Sakura got down from her bed and sat down near him, leaning slightly on the side of her bed. "What happened, Sasuke?"

He sighed again, lifting his head and putting his chin on his arms. Sasuke side-glanced at the girl sitting next to him and saw her face as usual as it was - indifferent. But in her eyes…there was something there. A glint that he managed to catch in the few seconds he looked at her. Worry? _She actually cares,_ Sasuke realized. _I…should tell her. I want to. I want to tell someone, but...I can't. _

"I'm fine," he said shortly, getting up.

And before Sakura knew it, he was out the door.

_What just happened?_ she asked herself. _I was almost sure he was going to tell me something._ She let out one of her own sighs and then decided to leave it, knowing that if he wanted to tell her something, he would, eventually.

After all, she _had_ told him about her parents…and what had happened. _Hopefully_, Sakura thought, _he knows that he can trust me enough_.

Sakura got up as well, going to the kitchen. She started making breakfast for the both of them and once it was done, she made coffee. _Where's Sasuke? _

He was taking a shower, as she found when she went near the bathroom door, hearing the water run. Walking back to the kitchen, she got out 2 mugs and poured herself some hot coffee.

Lazily walking over to the couch, she sat, sipping at her coffee, hissing when it burned her tongue. _There's still 6 more months_. Running a hand through her hair, she asked herself the question she had been for a while now - _How will I deal with it?_

"Sakura?" she heard. Looking over the back of the couch, she saw Sasuke, his hair slightly damp. He was looking at her intently and she saw the same look. The same look he had given her in the bedroom. The look that told him he wanted to say something, to get it out. The look that practically screamed "help." But she knew that she was in no place to help him as he didn't directly ask her.

"Yeah?" she answered, biting the inner part of her lip. Something pooled in her stomach - longingness. To help him. She almost reached out to him.

He hesitated. _Why had he called her again?_ "Nothing…"

_Tell me. _"Um...okay." Turning back around, she said, "It's on the table." She simply said, knowing that he would understand what she meant. She heard shuffling and movement and then saw him coming to sit near her.

Well, more like on the total opposite side of the couch, as if being near her hurt him.

Breakfast was filled with silence, no words coming from the people who were eating. Sasuke was never really a talker even in his younger years, with Team 7. However, he had been a talker when he was a child, as in when his parents were still alive. He used to be happy and talk all the time to everyone about everything. _Where has that gone?_ he thought grimly.

Glancing at Sakura, he wondered if she could bring that back but then stopped himself. _Why did I think that? What could she do? _Other than the weird feeling that she gave him when she smiled, she didn't seem to do much to affect him. All he knew was that her presence was comforting. Not needed. But comforting. It was almost nice having her around - especially since she wasn't annoying. And no where near as talkative as her younger years, which suited him just fine. She also made a great training partner as her chakra control was perfect and he had been learning from her - even though he never admitted it. His chakra control was great too, but not close to Sakura's.

Sakura had been a talker, but not recently, at least not in the last few years. Yeah, she talked around Naruto, Kakashi and her other teammates - she even put up a decent conversation or two with Sasuke - but in her younger years, her mouth would open a lot more than it had now. _Where has that gone?_ she thought. Sometimes, she desired to talk more. She wanted to, but she didn't have the strength to. Something in her just made her stay silent and stoic as usual. It was great in battle, but with her friends, she wanted to be normal, her usual self. The only place she could be herself is when she was alone and now, that was hard with the Uchiha living in her house.

Collectively, they both let out a sigh and then looked at each other - Sakura giving a small smile and Sasuke as well.

No other words exchanged, they got up as they had finished eating and cleaned the dishes together. After that, Sakura wondered what she should do on her day off when her home phone rang. She never really used it, but Ino made her get one, insisting that it was necessary. Sakura agreed, but said "no" immediately when Ino said that she should get a cellphone too. It was a hassle and an annoyance to recharge and carry around everywhere. It was fragile too.

Getting out of her thoughts, she reached to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" she said into the device.

"_Hey, Sak!_" Ino's voice dominated the small phone.

_She's so loud. _"Is something wrong?"

Sakura heard a sigh. "_Does something have to be wrong in order for me to call my best friend?_" Ino stated in a sassy tone.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "No, Ino. Sorry. But, what do you want?"

Sighing again, Ino said, "_Well, I just thought that it has been forever since our little friend group got together! And today's your day off, right?" _

Sakura nodded and then remembering Ino couldn't see her said, "Yeah."

"_Great! So we should all do something together!"_

"Like?"

Ino paused for a moment and then said, "_We should go to that lake that's near the training grounds. We can have a picnic and everything!_"

_A picnic? What are we - five?_ Sakura thought. But out loud, she said, "Um…I don't know. Have you talked to everyone else?"

"_Well, I already talked to the other girls and they said that they would bring their teammates along. And I saw Naruto at the ramen shop so I asked him and he said yes as well." _

Was she in the mood for being with her friends? Eh, it was her day off, right? And Ino was right, it had been really long since they had gotten together to do anything. Glancing at Sasuke who was watching TV (but Sakura could tell he was paying attention to her conversation), she also figured that it would be good for him since he had only trained for fun in the past two months - and occasionally had ramen with the "dobe" - Naruto. "Why not?" she said into the phone.

Ino squealed. "_Yay! Thank you, Forehead! Bring some food and," _her voice softened and lowered a bit, "_do you want to bring Sasuke? I can totally understand if you don't want him to come. Don't tell him about it if you don't want him to." _

Sakura had eventually told Ino what happened with Sasuke the day he left - the confession, the way he knocked her out, the bench - everything. And ever since, Ino's feelings had lessened and she started to detest Sasuke for how much he had hurt Sakura. But nevertheless, Sakura shook her head. "No. It's fine, Ino. I think it'll be good for him." She could see Sasuke shift a bit.

"_Okay..."_ Ino said, still sounding uncertain. "_Bring something for everyone to eat, okay?_" she reminded. "_We're going there in about three hours." _

"Okay, Ino. See you then."

After they had both hung up, Sakura turned to Sasuke and hesitantly walked over to him, sitting down next to him on the couch. After a few moments, "Do you want to come to a picnic with the rest of the teams?"

"A picnic?" Sasuke questioned, keeping his eyes on the TV. He was trying to seem indifferent, but it had been a long time since he saw any of the others.

"Yeah. Near a lake we all always go to."

"The lake near the training grounds?" Sasuke had stumbled across it after a day of hard training.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. We all swim there and it's fun. You should come."

_Huh. They all have gotten pretty close then, right? I guess I would have been to, had I stayed._ "Uh...sure." He added the "I guess" only moments later to preserve his callous and aloof demeanor.

After Sakura finished cleaning up the house a bit and made food for all ten of her friends and Sasuke (he wasn't really on friend level yet, but he was edging closer), she took a shower. And after she had gotten ready, Sakura and Sasuke left to go to the picnic.

* * *

"Sakura!" Ino yelled once Sasuke and Sakura got there, running to embrace her best friend since they were children.

"Hey, Ino," Sakura said, hugging her back only with one arm because she had the food in a bag in the other hand.

Ino briefly glanced towards Sasuke, but didn't say anything. She grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her to the others. "Forehead, help me lay these blankets out."

Only Hinata and her teammates were there; the rest had yet to come. The three girls laid the blankets after quick greetings.

Out of the girls, Sakura had gotten more familiar and closer with Hinata and of course, Ino. Hinata had a warm, caring and understanding aura around her (making Sakura immediately understand why Naruto liked her so much) and she listened to Sakura's vents, rants and emotional moments. Amongst the boys, surprisingly she had gotten the closest with Neji, excluding Naruto, of course. He was, also surprisingly, understanding because he understood both the Uchiha's actions and Sakura's. He gave her advice and some possible reasons of why things happened the way they did.

"Neji-kun!" Sakura yelled once he got there, running towards him, and abandoning Naruto who was asking for more water. She hugged him tightly and he asked her how she was, to which she responded with "Yeah. I'm doing better. Thanks." She let go, and turned back around to give Naruto water because he was still whining.

Sasuke looked at the exchange with astonishment. Since when did the _Hyuuga _become so understanding and caring and _loving_. He hated almost everyone before. That same feeling when Sakura smiled arose in Sasuke. But this time...it was _different_. It was more..._negative?_

His attention snapped back to the present when everyone laughed. At first, Sasuke thought they were laughing at him, but they weren't. They were all laughing at something else, something that Sasuke had missed. And _another feeling _went through him (_What is with all these feelings lately, goddamn it?) _as he sat a bit farther away from everyone. They all seemed so carefree and content. And the realization hit him..._He wasn't needed. _He was just an _extra_. An _annoyance_. A lump formed in his throat and his stomach hurt. He got up to leave.

"Sasuke!" he heard Sakura yell when he got up. "Come over here! They're racing to see who can swim back the quickest!" she pointed towards the lake to where Neji and Naruto were swimming with all their strength.

Sasuke felt something like a _string_ pull on his heart. He trudged over next to Sakura watching the two. Naruto won by a second of a difference.

"Woooohooooo!" Naruto yelled, jogging over to Hinata and picking her up even though he was all wet. He kissed her cheek. "I won!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Naruto, it's just a stupid game. Put her down.."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her childishly, and then laughed.

Sakura looked up at Sasuke who was still standing. "Sit down," she stated, patting the place next to her on the blanket. "Enjoy yourself for once."

Sasuke sat down next to her. Their knees touched, and it was all Sasuke could feel. The small warmth against his knee, right where both of their knees were meeting. And maybe she felt it too because she brought her knees up to her chin, resting her arms on the top of them.

He felt a loss of warmth and something ache in his heart as he looked up ahead and copied her position as well to show that he didn't care. Sasuke saw Sakura give him a side-glance out of his peripheral but he acted like he didn't see.

"Sakura!" Sakura's eyes left his face and turned towards Neji, who had called her, reaching out with his hand. "Come in the water!" He was a few feet away and she smiled slightly before shaking her head.

Sasuke smirked slightly. _Take that Hyuuga. _

"Oh, come on, Sak!" Neji said. "We all haven't been swimming together in so long."

Sakura bit her lip and rolled her eyes, finally giving up. "Fine." She stood up and slid off her sandals, taking his hand.

Neji looked briefly at Sasuke and Sasuke could swear that he saw a smirk, like he had won. And he had.

Sasuke looked at the ground bitterly. _Damn you, Hyuuga. Why didn't she just stay here? _Sasuke let out a small groan and closed his eyes. _When will this be over?_

* * *

Although some people talked to him, like Rock Lee, who wanted to train with him later, Hinata, who said a quick greeting out of her natural kindness and Naruto, of course, Sasuke understood that _he wasn't needed. _He understood that they were _better off without him. _That they all had a _bond_ together. That he was and maybe never would be a part of.

And for some reason, that annoyed him. So greatly that in order to let out some of his anger, he dug his fingernails into his skin so harshly that they left little red imprints of semi-circles that didn't vanish for a while.

And after much debating with himself, he finally and with _much_ reluctance, admitted that he wanted to be a part of their close circle of friendship as well. And he hated himself _even more_ for it.

* * *

_Hi...*runs behind a wall while you throw stuff at me because I'm trash and horrible* _

_I'm SO SO SO sorry I haven't updated this for MORE THAN A YEAR. I'M TRASH AND I'M SO SORRY. I have just had a lot going on and I've been busy with my other stories because I simply like those better. Sorry. But I like the meaning behind this story. NOT THAT I'M SAYING I LIKE MY STORIES. My stories are honestly horrible, but I still have many people supporting me and I feel so grateful. *hugs for all of you* _

_I want to sincerely thank you for taking time out of your day to read my (crappy) story, and (maybe) review it as well. It means more than you all can imagine. I LOVE YOU ALL. _

_Thanks again! _

_AND REVIEW, PLEASE. Should I continue this?_

**~ booklover333**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: **The characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, and I don't own them. But I do own the plot, so DON'T TRY AND STEAL IT! IT'S MY IMAGINATION!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**:

Sasuke eventually left. No one was talking to him anyway. No one would miss him anyway. No one cared anyway. Even Naruto, who was always about including everyone, seemed to forget his presence, caught up with the rest of his friends.

He figured that they were all so used to just themselves, they forgot about him because he was "new." And as much as he didn't want to admit it...it hurt.

It _hurt. _

And he _hated _it.

All of these feelings and crap started up since he's been living with the pink-haired girl. And it annoyed him to no end. Bonds made you _weak_. Bonds were always _severed_ somehow in the end, so it was better not to have them in the first place.

So then why did it hurt when he saw everyone laughing over Kiba falling in the lake? Why did it hurt when he saw Hinata feeding Naruto all lovingly? Why did it hurt when Neji picked up Sakura and jumped in the lake with her?

Why did it hurt that he was _alone_?

Wasn't that what he wanted after all? That's why he left, so he could be alone and focus on his goal. So _why_ wasn't that the case anymore.

It was all too confusing, and it made Sasuke's head hurt. Eventually, Sasuke found himself in front of his clan's old village. It was totally quiet. Not a sound, just the ruffle of leaves as they swayed along with the breeze.

Sasuke jumped over the fence and landed with a thud that seemed louder than it was due of the silence of the neighborhood. He swallowed, the memories of that _dreaded_ night coming back.

He walked along the roads, passing by what used to be the houses of his relatives, now covered with layers of dust. _Screams. _He finally reached his own house, and remembered how he used to play as a child, with his brother. _Blood._

The flicks on the forehead. The hair ruffles. The rare hugs. The short pieces of advice that Itachi gave him. Sasuke lowered his head. Why did he even come here? He didn't want anything that reminded him of his painful, lonely past. _Fear._

That lonely, hollow feeling that had made itself known before at the picnic, tripled somehow. He didn't think it could hurt anymore. Sasuke didn't feel like this type of hurt often. What he usually felt was blood pooling around him. Cuts burning his skin, accompanied by a tingling sensation. Painful throbs of his pulse where bruises were starting to form.

Those, he had _more_ than enough experience with.

But _this_ hurt?

The one that made a lump form in his throat and his breath catch and his eyes sting and his chest contract and his knees weak? Yeah, this one _definitely_ hurt more.

And for the first time, in many, many years, Sasuke let everything go, his leg muscles failing him as he fell to the ground in a heap, as he cried, cried, cried.

* * *

ANBU members found him eventually. "Uchiha! What the hell do you think you're doing?! Wandering around without us escorting you?" one of them said, once Sasuke had jumped back over the gate. Luckily, he had stopped crying a while before that, opting to sit there in the middle of the street, staring at one spot, silent.

"Sorry," was all that he said, somewhat surprising the ANBU members as he almost always scoffed, rolling his eyes in his trademark cocky, uptight attitude. They decided it was a bad day and simply take him home.

When they reached Sakura's house, and he went inside with the key copy that Sakura had made for him a month or so back, he found her sitting there, phone in hand. She immediately hung up when he came and stood up in shock. "Where did you go? I noticed you had left…"

"Uh, yeah." What else was he supposed to say? That he had just cried for an hour like a child? That he was feeling _lonely? _

"What does that mean? Where did you go if you weren't here?"

"I was just walking around."

She raised an eyebrow, resting a hand on her hip. "But why did you leave in the first place?"

"I wasn't feeling that good, okay? Now can you stop with your questions. This isn't an interrogation room," he snapped.

Sakura was taken back. He hadn't spoken to her in that harsh of a tone ever before, and it reminded her of her training days with him. She immediately shut her mouth, a foreign feeling filling her up. "Well, sorry for worrying." And with that, she left.

Sasuke sighed, feeling even worse than before. He knew that some of the trust and mutual relationship that he had built with her was gone. He let out a frustrated sigh, running his hand hazardously through his hair. Why, _why_, did he _always _have to mess everything up? _All_ _the_ _time_.

He probably had ruined her enjoyable, playful day, one that she most likely hadn't had for a while now. And now she was sad.

He groaned, flopping down on the couch, leaning his head back on the headrest. Did she say that she was _worrying?_ A somewhat happy feeling ran through his veins. _She...cares?_ The temporary euphoric feeling went away as he realized what he had said to her and how rudely, too. _Well, good job, Sasuke. _

Deciding it would be awkward later on when they ate and slept, he got up, on the way to her (their?) room, set on apologizing.

He knocked, tapping thrice softly with his knuckles (he had learned to after getting numerous things chucked at his head with terrifying speed when he didn't).

"What?" he heard from inside, not as fiery as it usually is.

"May I come in?"

"Whatever."

He opened the door, awkwardly fidgeting in the doorway. Wait, what? He was Uchiha freaking Sasuke. He did _not_ fidget. Sasuke stopped his fingers that were tangling and untangling with each other over and over again. "Um…I…I'm sorry."

Sakura raised her eyebrows in disbelief again. "You're apologizing? Seriously?"

Sasuke nodded. "I seriously left because I didn't…feel that well, though."

"W-Well, are you okay?" Sakura got up. "Do you have a fever or something," she asked, putting her hand on his forehead.

He jerked away. "N-No. I just felt nauseous."

"Do you want medicine or something?"

He shook his head, and then quickly left her room before she could say anything else, locking himself in the bathroom. He was exactly _lying_. He _did_ feel a bit sick to his stomach when he went to his old village.

Telling himself that locking himself up in a bathroom wasn't the best option, he carefully opened the door and once he was met with silence, he creeped down the hallway to go to the living room. He sat on the couch, intent on taking a desperately needed nap. That plan was ruined, however, when he heard Sakura's voice in the kitchen.

"I…Your eyes are red. A-Are you sure you're okay?" she came out of the kitchen with two cups of tea and set one down in front of Sasuke. After she took a seat and a sip of her tea, only to recoil back because of the heat, she looked up expectantly.

Sasuke was so entranced in watching her tongue dart out to lick her lips that he temporarily forget the question. When it came to him that she was looking at him, wanting an answer, he started to stutter. "Uh…yeah. I'm fine, Sakura."

"Sasuke, you _never_ cry. I don't think I've ever seen you cry. You're obviously _not _okay.

And that's okay. To not be okay for once. It's only _human_ and _normal_."

He looked up from where he was distracting himself from picking at the fringe of a pillow into her eyes and he wanted to spill out everything. Everything. Of his childhood, of his recent endeavours with Orochimaru, of everything.

So he did.

Starting from his childhood, then going into how he truly felt about Team 7, then about Orochimaru, and then now. He only talked, taking sips of tea in between to keep his mouth hydrated. And all Sakura did was finish her tea, and listen. She paid attention, but didn't say anything. And it was all he needed.

For someone to finally _listen_ to him.

He _finally_ got the attention and sympathy he had always secretly been craving for.

After finishing, he felt vulnerable. He had just laid his entire life out and poured out all his feelings that had been bottled up for _years_. The vulnerability came with less stress, though. Like someone had taken away most of his problems, as if they were tangible things.

But it was weird. It was like talking to a therapist because of how much it helped. And he realized that he doesn't need to keep it to himself all the time. Because _sometimes_, there were good people in the world, who actually _cared_.

And…he actually really liked it.

Sasuke fiddled with his empty teacup after he had finished talking, his eyes flickering up to meet Sakura's, looking for a reaction of some sort. And she didn't say anything for a while. It was almost starting to get awkward until she put her cup down and reached over, closing the space between them, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

The position was kind of awkward, with their bodies being farther apart than the typical "hugging range," but that didn't mean the warmth and the sense of security that came from the hug was any less. And as Sasuke lifted his arms to put them around Sakura's waist, he was reminded of his mother's hugs. Tears were brought to his eyes, but he willed them away; he'd cried too much today, enough for a while.

Sasuke pulled away first, figuring it was too long already and looked away, avoiding her eyes as he cleared his throat. He sat back, back hitting the couch, and sighed. "Thanks."

Sakura shook her head. "I didn't do anything."

He looked over. "You did more than you think. Seriously. Thank you."

She gave him a small smile, that he returned with one of his own.

An awkward silence fell over them until Sakura got up. "I'll start to make dinner."

Sasuke nodded. "I can help if you want." And once Sakura smiled and nodded, he got up,following her to the kitchen.

* * *

"Do you…want to sleep on the bed today? It's been a hard day for you. And you've been sleeping on that uncomfortable floor for such a long time," Sakura offered, as they were getting ready to go to sleep.

He shook his head. "No. It's your bed. And your floor's not that uncomfortable."

"It still is. Come on."

"Seriously, Sak, it's fine." He paused when the nickname slipped out and formed on its own. He looked up cautiously to see her look away nervously, but then continue.

"No. Sasuke. It's okay."

"Fine. But you have to sleep here, too," he said, sitting gingerly on the sheets.

Sakura just about choked. "No, I'm good. Thanks."

He caught her wrist gently as she was about to get some sheets, probably to make a temporary bed on the floor. "Please, Sakura. It's big enough anyway." That pleading look in his eyes made her give up.

"O-Okay."

They both crawled into bed, Sakura shutting off her light before doing so. And after some rustling around, mumbling "goodnight"s to each other, they drifted off into a needed sleep, barely acknowledging the other beside them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: **The characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, and I don't own them. But I do own the plot, so DON'T TRY AND STEAL IT! IT'S MY IMAGINATION!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**:

"Sakura. Sakura. Sakura!" she heard, pulling her from her dreams. Thank the lord, Naruto dressed up as a bear running around trying to hug was scary enough.

"W-What, Sasuke," she grumbled.

"It's almost seven," she heard from next to her. "Don't you need to get up?"

It had been six months since Tsunade first gave Sasuke the probation, and since that night that he told her about everything he had kept bottled up inside, they both had slept on Sakura's bed together. Neither got too clingy in the night, and respected the other's personal space, so it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be.

_Wait. Did Sasuke just say it was almost _seven_?_

Sakura shot up from bed, almost banging her forehead on Sasuke's, but he moved out of the way just in time. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?!" she scolded him, scrambling out of bed.

"I just got up too," he said, a yawn verifying his statement.

They both had slept late last night, watching movies and eating popcorn.

"Ugh!" she groaned. She grabbed an outfit for the day, dashing into the bathroom and taking a record-time shower. She barely got the shampoo out of her hair.

She skipped breakfast and just about ran out the door. "Sorry, Sasuke, make your own breakfast today!" Without waiting for a response, she slammed the door shut and ran off to work.

Sasuke was still in bed, in awe at just how fast she managed to get ready. He rubbed the remnants of sleep from his eyes and got up, ready to start the day. After he cleaned up their (their?) room, he made himself a simple breakfast before going out as well.

He almost ran into Naruto as he walked out of the house, _alone_. He didn't need to have ANBU escorts anymore (thank God, because those two were getting as annoyed as he was).

"Yo! I haven't seen you since like…2 days ago!" Naruto joked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dobe."

"How have you and Sakura-chan been?" Naruto asked as they walked together to an unknown location.

Sasuke nodded. "Good. We've actually gotten pretty close."

"Whoa, really?"

He nodded again, kicking stones that were on the path they walked.

Naruto laughed, as if he was unable to believe the situation. "It's so weird hearing you talk like this. You used to really hate her."

"I never _hated_ her. She was just annoying." Gosh, why did everyone think that he hated the pink-haired kunoichi in their childhood days. Just how rude was he to her exactly?

"Whatever it is. It's still weird hearing you guys and how close you are. I mean, it's nice. But weird."

Sasuke shrugged. What was so weird about having a friend? Was it wrong? He looked in front of him, now realizing that they were on their way to their old school.

"How…How have you and Hinata been?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked at him, shocked that he was asking about his girlfriend. His _girlfriend_. A goofy smile dominated his face and he leaned back, face towards the sky. "Great. She's so amazing. I think I might be in love, Sasuke."

This got Naruto a sidelong glance from Sasuke. It was abnormal to see the dobe so serious about something. That too, about a person, about _love_.

Sasuke's stomach churned. Over these months that he had been with Sakura, he and Sakura had gotten quite close. Closer than the Uchiha would have liked to admit. But he couldn't say that he hated it. It was nice having a presence there that could be counted on. It was nice having someone to spend the day with, to cook with, to live with, to _be _with.

He hadn't had that since his childhood days and although somewhat foreign, it was still liked. It never failed to leave him with a happy feeling in his chest.

But then that lead him to ask was it just that another person was there for him or the fact that _Sakura_ was there for him? Was it…actually possible that he…maybe…somewhat liked her?

Sasuke had these thoughts for months now. And the more time he spent with her wasn't exactly helping his case. Living with her and being with her more clouded his head with thoughts of her and only her and he didn't like that.

Sasuke didn't like at all that he was so reliant on someone yet again. After all, bonds made you weak.

But…what about a bond so strong that helped you become a stronger person?

Ugh, this was all so confusing and annoying and he-

"Sasuke!"

"W-What?"

Naruto sighed. "I've been calling you, like, three times now. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He hesitated. Should he tell Naruto? Naruto would probably laugh and tease him, but Sasuke knew that the kyuubi's holder would never judge him. After all, Naruto was judged and ostracized his entire life, so why would he do the same to his few friends? "How did you know that you were in love with Hinata?"

Naruto eyed him. "What's with all the love questions?"

Before Naruto could scrutinize the situation anymore, Sasuke shoved him as a distraction. "I'm just asking."

Shrugging, he said, "I don't know. It happens over time. It's not like I just woke up one day and realized 'Oh, I love Hinata-chan.' It's more like the more time you spend with them and the more time you get to know them, the more you fall in love and I guess when you finally say it, you realize the reality - that you are in love. It's steps at a time, though." Recognizing that he was babbling, he looked at Sasuke who seemed to be deep in thought again. Naruto rolled his eyes. Did he just say all that to get ignored again?

"Sas-"

"I gotta go," Sasuke cut him off and disappeared into a poof of smoke.

"What the hell."

* * *

When Sasuke reached the hospital that Sakura worked at, he barged in the doors, immediately going to the front desk, about to ask what Sakura's schedule was when said girl noticed him. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

Sasuke went over to her and grabbed her wrist, dragging her to a secluded hall. He looked around, ignoring her protests. The flickering light. The extra clean and sterile pungent smell of hospitals. It wasn't the ideal place to say what he was going to but it was going have to do.

"Sasuke! What the heck? Let go."

Sasuke finally let go of her wrist and took a deep breath. "This is going to sound really weird."

"What do you mean?" When he didn't answer, she spoke again. "Sasuke, if you have something to say, hurry up; my schedule is filled to the brim today."

"Don't worry about your schedule right now. Don't worry about anything. Just…just listen." He looked away. Was he really going to do this? Right now? Here?

Sakura looked worried by now. It must be serious if the male was so worried about saying it. Was he unsure how to phrase it? Did he do something wrong? Was he scared of her response? "Sasuke, what happened? You can tell me," she said gently.

"Nothing _happened_. I mean…well, yeah, something did happen. _You_ happened."

"What? Sasuke, you're not making any sense. Tell me. What's wrong?"

"I…I think I like you." Sasuke closed his eyes, waiting for her to do something. _Anything_. He doesn't know what he was expecting. A gasp? A hug? A slap? He doesn't know. But he definitely was _not_ expecting a _laugh_. A _scoff_. Sasuke timidly looked up so that his eyes met hers.

"Sasuke, what the hell? Are you…Are you on something? Do you feel sick again? Or is this a dare or something stupid like that?" She scoffed again, shaking her head. Were those…_tears_ he saw in her eyes? "You're wasting my time. Move."

What? _Wasting her time? _Does she know how _embarrassing_ that was? He just freaking confessed his love and he was wasting her time? He walked forward, making her back up until she hit the wall while he was in front of her.

"Sakura, I'm being serious."

Sakura's eyes looked scared and were looking around anxiously. If someone was to see them, they would be in serious trouble. "S-Sasuke."

"I…Really, Sakura. I've been feeling like this for a while now. And I just had a talk with Naruto, too, and he made realize that, yeah, I really do like you. I was…in denial before. But I'm serious about this."

"W-What? I just don't understand. Wh-Why…? Why now?" The tears in Sakura's eyes got bigger and eventually started to fall.

Sasuke felt horrible for making her cry. He brought his hand up and wiped her eyes.

"I just…I can't understand this. Why now?" In Sakura's head, this was all a cruel joke. This couldn't _actually_ being happening. Shouldn't it be the other way around?This was too much to handle. She…couldn't deal with this right now. Sakura pushed Sasuke away, running out of the hospital right as the tears started to seriously pour down, leaving Sasuke with a hollow feeling.

* * *

Sasuke didn't come back to Sakura's house until very late that night, spending the day training to get his mind off of what had just happened. After taking a quick shower and eating some leftovers from last night's dinner (did Sakura even have anything to eat?), he walked quietly to their room.

Should he sleep on the couch? He should give her space, right? He was about to turn around to go back to the living room when he heard, "Sleep here. You don't have to go to the couch."

Why was she still up? Or had he woken her up?

He closed the door behind him as he awkwardly shuffled to his side of the bed and crawled in, making a point to be as far away from her as possible.

"Sasuke…were you really being serious?"

He turned to face her. "Of course, Sakura. Why would I joke about something like that?"

"I don't know."

"I'm being serious."

"Okay."

Silence greeted them both.

Sakura shakily breathed and then said, "M-Me too."

"...R-Really?"

"Yeah. I don't think it ever fully went away. It…It just…I just tried to hide how I felt."

Sasuke smiled and so did Sakura. There was silence again until they both started laughing, breaking the awkward atmosphere that was between them.

Sasuke slowly shifted towards Sakura and hugged her to him. "Thank you."

"For what?" she said, allowing him to hug her.

"For everything." He leaned down to press a small kiss to the crown of her head and he smiled. Sasuke could finally say that he was happy in his life.

* * *

**Author's Note**:

_HEEYYY! Long time no see! **Really** crappy ending, I know, but I honestly just tried to wrap up things and finish this story off because I don't like it that much (and as some have you have expressed in the reviews, you don't like it either). I would like to focus on MTHIC: Sequel and Cliché Much? (and another very special story I have coming up, hehe) more because I simply like those better and think those have better plots and are more well-thought out. Soooo...yeah. I'm sorry about this ending. Really. But it is what it is. Haha. _

_Please keep supporting my other and future stories!_

_Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read my story. Hopefully, you can take an extra minute to review to make my day! :) Haha. _

_Thank you all so much for your support!_

~ booklover333


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